Back To The 80s

As they walked in, they saw Chunling pacing back and forth with Xiaopang in her arms. Mo Wang was lying on the kang, starting to fuss, lifting his head and making whining noises.

Gu Xiaobei saw that his son was almost frantic with hunger, something he hadn’t seen before. He changed his clothes, washed his hands, and prepared to feed Mo Wang first today.

Gu Xiaobei suggested Lu Zhanguo to lie down in the master bedroom, but after having not seen his children for so long, Lu Zhanguo couldn’t bring himself to do that. He looked at Xiaopang in Chunling’s arms, his eyes glazed with affection.

Chunling jokingly suggested, "Why don’t you lie down on the kang too, Captain Lu? I can put Xiaopang next to you while I go cook."

Xiaopang, who had been crying his heart out, stopped as soon as he was laid next to his dad. He rolled over to get closer, then put his tiny hand in his mouth and started chewing.

Lu Zhanguo lay on his side, gazing at his daughter, who had grown noticeably in the two months he hadn’t seen her. She was a soft, plump bundle of cuteness leaning into his chest. Tears still glistening in her big eyes. He couldn’t help squeezing Xiaopang’s chubby cheeks and chuckled, "Xiaopang’s a good girl, isn’t she? She’s quiet now."

Gu Xiaobei, holding Mo Wang and nursing him, heard Lu Zhanguo praising their daughter and snorted, "Your daughter’s such a charmer! She’s certainly trying to get in her dad’s good graces."

Gu Xiaobei had cured Xiaopang’s habit of crying to be held by not giving in. When Xiaopang cried to be held, he simply didn’t hold her. After a few unsuccessful attempts, she stopped crying.

Of course, this approach doesn’t work for all kids. Some have strong wills and would rather hold their breaths than give up what they want.

Lu Zhanguo gently shook Xiaopang’s hand, playing with his precious daughter. Xiaopang responded with toothless little babble, her baby talk melting Lu Zhanguo’s heart.

Gu Xiaobei joked, "You’re showing favoritism! As soon as you came, you only had eyes for Xiaopang. Have you forgotten about our Mo Wang? Look how adorable he is; he’ll surely grow up into a handsome, quiet gentleman."

It was only then that Lu Zhanguo looked up and turned his gaze to his son in Gu Xiaobei’s arms, but his gaze landed on the swath of exposed skin, burning with intensity.

Feeling the heat of Lu Zhanguo’s gaze, Gu Xiaobei put on a stern face and scolded, "Just pay attention to your daughter." After saying that, she turned her back to Lu Zhanguo. Men, she thought, were just too simple.

After feeding Mo Wang, she switched to Xiaopang. Surprisingly, Xiaopang was patient enough to wait for her brother to finish eating. Seeing this, Gu Xiaobei thought, "She really is daddy’s girl." Gently squeezing Xiaopang’s chubby cheek, she wondered who Xiaopang took after.

After both children were fed, they were placed side by side on the kang. Xiaopang seemed satisfied only after she managed to drape her leg over Mo Wang’s body.

Gu Xiaobei asked Lu Zhanguo to keep an eye on the kids so they wouldn’t roll off, while she went to help Chunling cook.

Chunling was making noodles for lunch and had prepared a pickled vegetable and minced meat sauce. Lu Zhanguo’s soup, prepared from mutton and carrots bought earlier in the day by Gu Xiaobei, had been simmering all morning and had turned milky.

Chunling saw Gu Xiaobei enter the kitchen and said, "It’s almost ready, the noodles just need to be drained. Sister-in-law, could you please set up the kang table for us? Let’s eat on the kang."

Seeing the sense in that, Gu Xiaobei agreed. It would spare Lu Zhanguo the effort of getting up and down.

As soon as they had filled their bowls and were about to start eating, they heard a knock at the door. The soft, rhythmic knock startled them; they hadn’t expected any visitors.

Gu Xiaobei was a bit surprised, but then she thought it might be Jiang Jiahua. She got up to open the door.

Indeed, it was Jiang Jiahua. He had returned from work at noon to find his sister, Jiang Jiayan, crying her eyes out, claiming she had been victimized. Their mother was also there, coaxing Jiang Jiayan while cursing at the person who had hurt her.

Jiang Jiayan burst into even more tears when she saw her brother. "Brother, you must help me get my revenge. I went to the hospital for a check-up today and was unjustly beaten."

Their mother also chimed in, "What a shrew! Your sister Yanyan was just trying to give her some advice, and that woman attacked her. Look at her, her face is all swollen—in these scrapes—it’s so outrageous."

Jiang Jiahua, knowing very well what kind of person his sister was, frowned and asked, "Since when do you give people advice out of the goodness of your heart?"

Hearing this, their mother became indignant, "Your sister has been treated so badly, and this is how you, as her brother, respond? I heard that the woman who attacked your sister’s husband is in the hospital. You should go teach them a lesson this afternoon. These country people have no manners at all."

Jiang Jiahua sat on the couch, silent for a long while before saying, "Mom, let’s not jump to conclusions. We’ve only moved to the city a few years ago. We shouldn’t look down on country folks."

His mother was taken aback. She gave her son a hard look and said, "You tell us what to do then. Are we just going to let your sister be wronged like this?"

Ignoring his mother, Jiang Jiahua directly asked Jiang Jiayan, "Could you explain why you got into a fight?"

Wiping her nose, Jiang Jiayan pouted, "Do you remember the woman we met at the train station when you came to pick me up? The one we ran into again at the shopping mall, who was rude and unreasonable. Today, I tried to kindly warn her about the high cost of medical treatment in the city, and she suddenly attacked me without a word."

It took a moment for Jiang Jiahua to realize his sister was referring to Gu Xiaobei. How did these two manage to become enemies? He wondered.

"Did you fight back?" Jiang Jiahua was concerned about Gu Xiaobei. After all, Jiang Jiayan was taller than Gu Xiaobei, who looked weak and unassuming, hardly the kind of person to pick a fight. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Looking wronged, Jiang Jiayan said, "How could I be a match for her? Look at the scratches she gave me. I don’t care, brother, you have to teach that shrew a lesson for me."

Jiang Jiahua gave his sister a cold stare before slowly saying, "Why don’t you go back to Song Tiezhu for help?"

Jiang Jiayan was taken aback before huffing, "I must have been blind to marry such a wimp. When I told him that the brawler’s husband is a soldier, he was too scared to make a peep."

"I’m not going to help you either. You know very well whether you were in the right or not." After saying this, Jiang Jiahua got up and left.

Their mother was stuck dumb, yelling from behind, "It’s almost lunchtime. Where are you going?"

Without turning back, Jiang Jiahua said, "I’ll go out to eat. You guys enjoy your meal."

Jiang Jiahua thought for a long time before buying some liquid malt and sugar, some meat, and decided to go and see Gu Xiaobei.

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Gu Xiaobei opened the door to find Jiang Jiahua carrying some things. She was taken aback. She had assumed he was here to seek revenge since she had hit his sister, but when she saw him holding items, she inwardly berated herself for being cynical and politely asked, "Editor-in-chief Jiang, what brings you here?"

"I heard about the conflict between you and my sister. I came to apologize on her behalf. She’s been spoiled since she was young." Jiang Jiahua said a bit awkwardly.